Archive Collections Connection

Of the three vignettes in the exhibit to illustrate family life during the Great Depression, the one that seems to be the most popular is the Living Room. Here we see a handmade rag rug placed in the center of the room, where a self-sufficient family of the 1930s would have engaged in their tasks and entertainments. Mom does her mending to the sounds of the big floor model radio in the corner, the little girls are holding a doll’s tea party on the homemade shipping crate table, and the boys play around the legs of Mom’s chair with an Amos ‘n’ Andy wind-up car. Scissors and paper dolls lie on the rug. The dollhouse is missing its chimney and has faded and scuffed wallpaper, but this hasn’t kept it from being the scene of domestic drama.

The dollhouse, a bungalow made by the A. Schoenhut Company of Philadelphia, is displayed currently on display at the Museum for the first time We had passed by it many times, sitting on the shelf with its roof beside it in the dim light of the Collections storage area. In the process of gently vacuuming and cleaning it, we got to open the sides to see the brightly lithographed paper features on its walls and floors, including pictures of doorways opening into other rooms. In the process of researching the company for information about the house, we found that they made many styles of dollhouses and furniture out of wood with lithographed details; they also made very popular circus figures such as clowns and animals, feasts for children’s imaginations. These items are highly collectible today.

Collections Connections Featuring Items from the Museum Collection
By: Anne Lane, Collections Manager
From December 2006: When you visit the exhibit, Personal Legacies: Surviving the Great Depression, you can discover stories about self-sufficiency and freedom from want, many told from a child’s perspective. These sentiments are reiterated on the advice wall you see at the end of the exhibit: “Only buy what you can afford,” “Make do with what you have.” In the case of children, making do often is made so much easier by the childish faculty of imagination. Where adults might see only scraps of wood, old magazines and bits and pieces of metal, children see possibilities. Where adults see crude handmade approximations of the shiny toys shown in store windows, children see powerful cars and beautiful dolls and adventures. Where adults see worn-out hand-me-downs, children see treasures.
Of the three vignettes in the exhibit to illustrate family life during the Great Depression, the one that seems to be the most popular is the Living Room. Here we see a handmade rag rug placed in the center of the room, where a self-sufficient family of the 1930s would have engaged in their tasks and entertainments. Mom does her mending to the sounds of the big floor model radio in the corner, the little girls are holding a doll’s tea party on the homemade shipping crate table, and the boys play around the legs of Mom’s chair with an Amos ‘n’ Andy wind-up car. Scissors and paper dolls lie on the rug. The dollhouse is missing its chimney and has faded and scuffed wallpaper, but this hasn’t kept it from being the scene of domestic drama. The dollhouse, a bungalow made by the A. Schoenhut Company of Philadelphia, is displayed currently on display at the Museum for the first time We had passed by it many times, sitting on the shelf with its roof beside it in the dim light of the Collections storage area. In the process of gently vacuuming and cleaning it, we got to open the sides to see the brightly lithographed paper features on its walls and floors, including pictures of doorways opening into other rooms. In the process of researching the company for information about the house, we found that they made many styles of dollhouses and furniture out of wood with lithographed details; they also made very popular circus figures such as clowns and animals, feasts for children’s imaginations. These items are highly collectible today.